Communal Baby Asian Scorpion Set Up

[SUT]

Been doing research on scorps for a bit and recently went to a local reptile show and got a great deal on three Asian Forest slings. The breeder himself said they can live together, which is how he was keeping his, then I set them up like so. Though further research after the fact seems to contradict this. So what I am asking is can I keep my brood together or do they need to be separated? Any additional information on how to improve their enclosure(s) would also be greatly appreciated.

Below are two of the (third is in one of the hides) and a shot of their current enclosure.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

There is ALWAYS a risk of cannibalism even with communal sp.. i personally keep a few slings together.. providing lots of space. Extra hides and food 24 / 7 i havent had any bad luck yet.. all we can do ia reduce the chances.. heres a pic of my setup

 

[SUT]

Interesting, about how big is that enclosure for how many slings? Also, should I feed the group more than once a week?

 

[ArachnoDrew]

Interesting, about how big is that enclosure for how many slings? Also, should I feed the group more than once a week?

Its a 96 ounce deli container housing 4. But it just moved them into a 6qt container.. i personally always keep food available in there just to reduce chance of them snacking on each other... 2 of them are out growing the other 2. I would feed twice a week if possible

 

[SUT]

The closest thing I have on hand is a 64 ounce container for 3. I do have 6 qrt container ready for critters, seems a bit much for the current situation. Idk if taking the chance of losing one of my slings is worth it though. Dimensions seem a bit close.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

The closest thing I have on hand is a 64 ounce container for 3. I do have 6 qrt container ready for critters, seems a bit much for the current situation. Idk if taking the chance of losing one of my slings is worth it though. Dimensions seem a bit close.

They can be in what you have them in now for a few molts.

 

[SUT]

Really? Even though this container is only 3 by 6 inches.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

Yea 2 more molts at most.. theyl still be fairly small

 

[SUT]

Oh, lol. That puts a lot of stress off rehousing immediately. Thanks. Getting a heat lamp soon and adding another small hide now with some redrunners. Any other advice for a new scorpion keeper? Currently, all I have in the terrarium is 3 corkbark hides and some sphagnum moss.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

Oh, lol. That puts a lot of stress off rehousing immediately. Thanks. Getting a heat lamp soon and adding another small hide now with some redrunners. Any other advice for a new scorpion keeper? Currently, all I have in the terrarium is 3 corkbark hides and some sphagnum moss.

Nah thata all you need.. only thing id suggest would be too not keep the substrate super moist.. and to cover some of the ventilation so it holds better humidity

 

[SUT]

Sweet, in a better spot than I thought then. Right now it is pretty wet, Hopefully, it'll dry out when I get my heat lamp. They should be fine for a few days hopefully. Will they eat pinhead redrunners? I released 3 into the enclosure and they are just chilling on the ceiling of the larger cork bark atm out of the scorps reach.

I feel like a worried parent with all of these questions lol.

 

[ArachnoDrew]

Sweet, in a better spot than I thought then. Right now it is pretty wet, Hopefully, it'll dry out when I get my heat lamp. They should be fine for a few days hopefully. Will they eat pinhead redrunners? I released 3 into the enclosure and they are just chilling on the ceiling of the larger cork bark atm out of the scorps reach.

I feel like a worried parent with all of these questions lol.

Haha ita normal i felt the same way... i use red runners as well.. leave em be. They're harmless.. everyone reccomends to remove feeder after a while incase a scorpion behins to molt.. but ove never had an issue..
Crickets i wouldnt leave though
They like to nibble

 

[Red Eunice]

C. gracilis communal, 10 gl., 6 adults as residents. Lots of hides and feeders are always available. Eat anything live, raised on lats, crickets and occasionally mealies. No cannibalism so far, I do a tail count every few days. All are brood mates, kept separately until they reached 4i-5i, then communal to save space.
All the Heterometrus species, I keep in separate enclosures with moist soil. They get the same feeders as the gracilis, but sometimes the adults will get a dubia.
Best of luck with your communal!

 

[darkness975]

View attachment 254972
C. gracilis communal, 10 gl., 6 adults as residents. Lots of hides and feeders are always available. Eat anything live, raised on lats, crickets and occasionally mealies. No cannibalism so far, I do a tail count every few days. All are brood mates, kept separately until they reached 4i-5i, then communal to save space.
All the Heterometrus species, I keep in separate enclosures with moist soil. They get the same feeders as the gracilis, but sometimes the adults will get a dubia.
Best of luck with your communal!

Personally I would give that enclosure a couple more pieces of vertically-oriented bark.

 

[darkness975]

Been doing research on scorps for a bit and recently went to a local reptile show and got a great deal on three Asian Forest slings. The breeder himself said they can live together, which is how he was keeping his, then I set them up like so. Though further research after the fact seems to contradict this. So what I am asking is can I keep my brood together or do they need to be separated? Any additional information on how to improve their enclosure(s) would also be greatly appreciated.

Below are two of the (third is in one of the hides) and a shot of their current enclosure. View attachment 254917 View attachment 254919 View attachment 254920

Use Saran wrap on half of the lid to keep humidity in.

I have had a communal of true P. imperators for going on 3 years now. I got them at 2i and they're now 4i.

Being well-fed and having enough space minimizes cannibalism. It does not eliminate it but it minimizes it.

 

[SUT]

Thank you for the advice everyone

Alright, new enclosure setup. Some more moss and another hide ending up with 1 per sling.



For filling up the holes, no saran wrap on hand. Hot glue seemed the best option on hand for sealing it up with all of the awkward angles there were with the enclosure.

They still have not eaten, plan is to keep 3 red runners at all times so they always have some source of food if they get hungry.

 

[darkness975]

plan is to keep 3 red runners at all times so they always have some source of food if they get hungry.

Bad plan. You should not keep feeders in there all the time. If they do not eat overnight remove the feeders and try again in a few days. Pre-molt Scorpions would become lunch if they molted with hungry feeders in there. They could also be disturbed by the feeders during the molting process.

Also, while they need humidity, the inside of your Enclosure has so much condensation it looks like a swamp and the substrate looks like if it was squeezed it would discharge a ton of water. Let it dry out a bit. Too much of a good thing is definitely a thing.

As long as the substrate is reasonably moist (not sopping) they'll be fine.

 

[Venom1080]

Personally I would give that enclosure a couple more pieces of vertically-oriented bark.

Would it be a bad idea to put siblings together after being separate for almost a year?

Sorry OP, don't mean to hijack. Best of luck with your scorps.

 

[darkness975]

Would it be a bad idea to put siblings together after being separate for almost a year?

While there is always some risk with a communal set up, you should be fine to do this so long as you introduce them into a new Environment that does not have established territories and you feed them well. Make sure there are multiple hides as well so they can get away from each other if they desire to.

So far my 3 P. imperators have been fine. Knock on wood.

While it may be a bit dumb to have a communal with such a hard to come by species, I am a bit short on space at the moment.

 

[SUT]

Also, while they need humidity, the inside of your Enclosure has so much condensation it looks like a swamp

I noticed, it was starting to smell like a one.... Changed the coco fiber out yesterday along with taking out the moss. Now just the top layer is slightly wet. Roaches will get pulled out today. I have made sure that they all know the other hides exist by gently nudging them to each and making sure they go under. They always end up under the same one after a day however. Hopefully not an issue from what you said.

you should be fine to do this so long as you introduce them into a new Environment that does not have established territories and you feed them well.

Is there anything I can do to prevent territories from being formed? Or is it unavoidable?


Also thanks for all the help everyone. Y'all are awesome.